NYC Council Zoning Chair Keeps Separate Campaign Fund For Real Estate Cash

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By Daniel J. Solomon May 23, 2017

David Greenfield, who chairs the New York City Council’s powerful Committee on Land Use, has a separate campaign account that allows him to skirt city rules and accept contributions from real estate companies, the New York Observer reported Monday.

The account in question has received $308,641.71 –- much of it from city developers – and can only be used to pursue a state office. City rules prohibit corporations, law firms and companies from giving to municipal political campaigns.

Greenfield’s committee oversees city zoning rules -– an important matter for real estate firms.

Joseph Sitt, founder of major developer Thor Equities, has given Greenfield’s state account $10,000. Sitt may soon seek zoning changes for properties in south Brooklyn, real estate news site TheRealDeal.com reported.

Kalman Yeger, who manages the city and state campaign funds for Greenfield, defended the arrangement from insinuations of impropriety.

“It is not uncommon for candidates to establish a separate committee for a potential future race,” he told the Observer. “This is normal, is permitted and anticipated by law, and this committee follows every legal requirement.”

Greenfield represents the heavily-Jewish neighborhood of Borough Park as well as other communities in central Brooklyn.

Contact Daniel J. Solomon at [email protected] or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon

Daniel J. Solomon is the former Assistant to the Editor/News Writer at the Forward. Originally from Queens, he attended Harvard as an undergraduate, where he wrote his senior thesis on French-Jewish intellectual history. He is excited to have returned to New York after his time in Massachusetts. Daniel’s passions include folk music, cycling, and pointed argument.

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